


12DaysofJATP - Baking

by LWhoScribbles



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: 12DaysofJATP, Baking, Christmas Fluff, Cooking, Found Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28064793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LWhoScribbles/pseuds/LWhoScribbles
Summary: Twelve days of "Julie and the Phantoms"!Little burnt, but, yeah, still good.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33
Collections: 12 Days of Julie And The Fantoms





	12DaysofJATP - Baking

“Hey, what’s going on?” Luke slips onto one of the barstools in the kitchen where he finds Julie and Alex.

“Watching Reggie,” Julie answers quietly without moving her head.

“Ray’s out. We just want to see what he does,” Alex also answers from the other side of Julie.

Luke looks from one to the other, looks over at Reggie bopping around the kitchen, surveys what looks to be about five different processes in action, and back to the other two.

“Should we help him?” he whispers not really certain why they’re keeping their voices low.

Julie seems to ignore the question in favor of watching Reggie and Alex shrugs.

Luke turns his attention to Reggie and settles in to join the crowd. They watch silently for a solid minute before he’s fidgeting.

“So what’s he doing?” he tries.

“Dad said he wanted to do a big, festive dinner this year,” Julie murmurs, eyes going wide as Reggie starts haphazardly balancing bowls and plates in one hand, adding to the pile with the other. He seems unconcerned that they’re stacking up into a precarious tower as he’s digging more and more out of the cabinet, clearly hunting for something.

“Ah ha!” He is triumphant and sets a large serving bowl painted with holly and ribbons gently on the counter. Luke glances at Alex who is clamping down on a muffled “oh no” as the tower wobbles. Julie is holding her breath. Luke feels like he should be holding his if he had any. He watches Reggie lovingly and meticulously put each item back. No one dares to say anything until the stack is down to three bowls.

Julie blows out a long “hooooo” and says, “He was just gonna make a cake.”

Alex unclenches his hands from around a dish towel. “When I came in he’d already moved onto—,” something on the stove boiled and bubbled over.

“Crap!” Reggie yelped, spinning to fiddle with the knobs. The liquid hissed and sizzled as it hit the burner.

“—mashed potatoes,” Julie finished. “He said we needed more than just cake and since my dad had to go to work he’d just—,” she winces as Reggie opens the oven and slams it shut again a bit too loudly. Reggie himself jumps, but immediately dances over to poke with a spoon at something else. “He’d just make everything.”

“He’s been watching cooking videos with Tía V and Carlos,” Alex said sounding and looking perplexed and more than a little helpless.

Luke nods slowly and watches as Reggie snags a knife, licks his lips, and goes to town on a pile of garlic. Luke isn’t sure what could be using that much garlic, or rather, if anything should be using that much garlic.

“He said he was going to clean as he went along,” Julie gave the sink a forlorn glance. Luke looks over, too, and cringes.

“Oh! The marshmallows!” Reggie suddenly drops the knife and dances to another cabinet to dig around for the remembered ingredient.

Luke, Alex and Julie all look up and twist around when they hear the front door open and the jingle of the wreath as the door slams shut. Carlos walks in, waves at his sister, and then stops dead in his tracks when he catches sight of the marshmallows floating by and the mayhem beyond. They watch him take stock. Watch him consider. And then, with a nod to Julie and a wave to the room at large, as if to say, ‘This looks like a you guys problem, good luck,’ he turns on his heel and dashes away up the stairs. Alex, Luke, and Julie stare after him for a second, but Reggie is banging on something, so they all feel compelled to turn back around.

“Is that a pork loin?” Alex asks. Luke shrugs. Julie shrugs. Reggie is muttering and seems to be punctuating his thoughts with each _THUMP, THUMP, THUMP._

“You know,” Luke says casually, “Reggie used to come to my house every year before Christmas eve and help my mom and me bake for her church friends.”

Julie and Alex both turn to look at Luke. It takes a minute, but then Alex only says, “Oh. Oh, man.” Julie isn’t sure she understands exactly, but she sees the softness in Luke’s face and hears some realization in Alex’s voice. She watches for a minute more Reggie patting the meat and rifling through the spices.

“My mom has a secret empanada recipe,” Julie blurts. The guys look at Julie. Julie looks back.

“I got the dishes,” Alex says.

“I’ll get the stuff on the stove,” Luke calls.

“I’ll see what’s in the oven,” and with that, they spill around the island and into Reggie’s sphere.

Reggie looks up from the spices as if noticing them for the first time that afternoon. “Hey, guys, what’s going on?”

“Families cook together. What’s in the oven?” Julie answers swiftly.

Luke nods short agreement as Alex says, “Hey, Reggie!” and flicks on the water and grabs a sponge.

Reggie looks around at his friends, his attention now fully pulled away from his tasks. He blinks several times. “Families?” he repeats softly.

“Cake’s a little burnt,” Julie says leaning over a cooling rack, “but still good, I think.”

“Hey, Julie, where’s the salt?” Luke asks.

“On your left,” Alex answers instead.

“Hey, Reggie, want to help me bake one more thing?” Julie asks.

Reggie beams at them all and says more to himself than anyone else, “Yeah, still good," and he swings back into action. 


End file.
